It’s when life takes on a slower pace. Manhattan wakes up later. On Sundays, the streets are uncomplicated and easy to navigate given the lack of foot and car traffic. This is in large part due to the island’s residents escaping the heat of the concrete in favour of shorelines in far-flung Jersey Shore, Rockaway Beach, or The Hamptons.

Summer – a perfect time to appreciate the city. Starting with breakfast in the West Village, meandering in the quieter and more industrial parts of Soho, then cooling down in my home ‘hood of Williamsburg. This is what Sundays are all about.

Sunday, summery Sunday. My pictorial of New York, today. Enjoy!

Caffe Reggio on MacDougal Street. An institution since 1927 – apparently the first cafe in the US to serve a cappuccino.

I know, I know… You’ve got the glorious Pacific Ocean. I agree, there’s really nothing better than starting the day with a glimpse of its sparkling blue, and inhaling its salty air. I hear you: the Pacific Coast Highway is one of the most awe inspiring drives as you head towards a tucked away Malibu. But then, you’ve got the idyllic Hollywood Hills; I would love to live in one of their Neutra designed homes, or anything modernist architecture for that matter.

In all honesty, I am sold on living in one of the beach fringing neighbourhoods – Venice Beach, or Santa Monica; in a cute little shack and a garden brimming with bougainvillea, red hibiscus, and some roses, too.

On the other hand, a little further inland, there’s that Brooklyn-esque vibe of your downtown area. I’ve been reading about its revival; less Skid Row, more loft and (unfortunately) condo. When I visited, about 2 months ago, the Arts District was alive: its graffiti-decorated streets fringed with manufacturing and lofted warehouses, punctuated by railway tracks of an industrial past. I loved the bustling dining culture with lively spots including Wurstkuche, Church & State, and an outpost of Urth Caffe. Simply say, “Urth’s green tea matcha soy milk latte,” and I’m there.

I’m steps closer to being wooed back, LA. Here’s one reason: a glimpse into the Arts District, and the area around Hewitt Street. Enjoy!

I was enroute to yoga class, when my Zen bubble was burst; I had spotted a sign by a prominent Manhattan based restaurant pointing in the direction of their newest location. Painted in bright colours on a side street wall that intersects with the neighbourhood’s main artery, Bedford Street, it looks more advertising than street art.

I was overcome by a combination of sadness mixed with compassion and loss. Flourishing, this artist enclave that I so enjoy for its grit-and- arty glam is now code for ‘goldmine’. Don’t get me wrong, the group behind the new restaurant has a very good reputation. The sign simply added to an already built-up set of emotions attributed to a general sense of protectiveness towards the Williamsburg community; I resist significant change from fear that it might change the fabric of a neighbourhood I have grown to love. Reading the sign, the discourse in my mind ran along the lines of, “Don’t run out the small businesses. They’re creating something good here. Please don’t mess it up.” But, then again, it’s already too late.

Vines cultivated in 'treasure'-cans

Williamsburg, reflected

Street Art is the norm in this 'hood

I moved to Williamsburg, Brooklyn when it was in the throes of gentrification; since the recession, things have been looking up. I knew it before its skyline was punctuated with the large-scale developments of today; I was drawn to its artisan culture and rich creative community. What I find most alluring about the neighbourhood is its shabby-chic vibe. Here, (most) everything old is new again: in a nod to the past, former barrel making warehouses house café cum coffee roasteries; vintage clothing stores dictate trends on the street; old school looking diners stand in the midst of streets decorated with torn posters, playful street art, and FAILE wall stencils.

Wyeth Diner

A FAILE work, mimicked. On Wyeth Street

Old factories, decorated

In a labyrinth of independently owned storefronts, I remember being baffled when a large-scale Duane Reade opened a location directly across from a long standing mom n pop pharmacy. It didn’t feel right and I wondered how the council permitted it; I now think it was a subliminal message. Manhattanites have caught wind of this new ‘hot spot’ and clamor here on the weekends. Just recently I read that Whole Foods will be setting up shop in the area; I can’t say I won’t take advantage of the shorter distance to buy produce but I am in no way advocating their choice of new location.

Taking a stand through art

A typical street scene

I can’t speak to what Williamsburg was like before I discovered it over 4 years ago, and subsequently relocating, though evidence of its roots abound. The Williamsburg Bridge, opened in 1903, brought with it a new population of people: second-generation Americans and immigrants including Hasidic Jews, Dominicans, and Puerto Ricans. Renovated warehouses survive their industrial days of glass blowing and metal smithing; the now defunct Domino Sugar Factory is symbolic of a former glory – in the late 19th century, it was the largest sugar refinery in the world.

Backdrop of the Williamsburg Bridge and Domino Sugar Refinery

A game of dominoes

After WWII, trade and industry deteriorated, and about 30 years ago the creative community took over a neighbourhood in despair. Disenchanted with the rent hikes of their reinvigorated SoHo, they crossed the Bridge to the ‘burg to settle and establish an alternative to the downtown art scene. One of my yoga teachers’ remembers stumbling over passed out drug addicts on the steps of her Bedford Street apartment just 15 years back.

this is the time to take a stand, to reverse the tide, so that we won’t all end up in a uniform world of steel and glass boxes.

Thankfully, the terminal was saved. On the other hand, these 3-year old East River fringing condo towers are hard to miss as are the gaping holes within the grid of streets, which will eventually be occupied with something of the same. I must admit though, I do enjoy sitting in the new waterfront park at their base, to watch the sun cloak the Empire and Chrysler Buildings with a shimmer of copper-gold as it sets.

Scaffolding hide gaps. In turn, they are a canvas for street art.

East River Ferry dock; Empire and Chrysler Buildings in distance

A new take on 'Park n Ride'

My love for the Williamsburg community is unwavering yet coming to terms with inevitable change of the neighborhood is a double-edged sword. As easily as I forget, I must just as quickly remember to embrace the present moment and ride its wave of success, for I too moved here during its early stages of gentrification. Whilst I do find solace in the ability of the artist community to revitalize an otherwise faltering neighbourhood, I can’t help but wonder what will come of Williamsburg in a year’s time.

It is true that nothing is permanent; that some things are more temporary than others. As for moments – well, they are altogether fleeting.

After a period of hibernation, blooms symbolise the start of a warmer season. Their pinks, yellows, greens, purples, and whites brighten a landscape that may have at one time looked wintry bare. The sun may shine today, adding warmth and a zest indicative of an upcoming spring. But, what of tomorrow? (The weather channels have been proven wrong many times…)

In some parts of the world however, the streets are always splashed with colour, regardless of the day or the season. Williamsburg’s street art may be temporary, but it is always there. In an urban landscape constantly undergoing change, what you see one day may be gone – or replaced – the next. Nevertheless, the artwork persists; every piece the product of an expressive soul who is part of a creative, fearless, and diverse community.

I am reminded of how lucky I am every day when I walk within the neighbourhood’s maze of murals, paste-ups, graffiti, words, stencils, and paintings. Even a passing glimpse of colour through the car window can bring about a change in mood, attitude, or an aside to a conversation.

I hope you’ll get to see this part of Brooklyn soon. Until then, enjoy this curation– some of the artworks are old, some are new, and some are no longer in existence.

If we only walk on sunny days, we’ll never reach our destination ~Paulo Coehlo

Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music – the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people – simply forget yourself~ Henry Miller

The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see~ G.K. Chesterton

Every day has the potential to be the best day of your life~ Lin-Manuel Miranda

But how could you live and have no story to tell?~ Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop taking it seriously~ Hunter S. Thompson

Faith is taking the first step even when you can’t see the whole staircase~ Martin Luther King Jr.

All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today~ Indian Proverb

It may have been built after Brooklyn Bridge and Williamsburg Bridge, but Manhattan Bridge is the middle child. Poised between its predecessors, it is neither as iconic as Brooklyn Bridge, nor as artsy as Williamsburg Bridge, but a lack of pretense makes it cool. Overlooking sweeping views of Manhattan and Brooklyn, it joins two of my favourite neighbourhoods: Manhattan’s Chinatown and Brooklyn’s DUMBO (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass).

The bridge’s lack of tourists and crowds (unlike Brooklyn Bridge) makes for a pleasurable walk from Chinatown to DUMBO, and vice versa.

The Empire State Building, framed by DUMBO.

Chinatown, clustered under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass.

Street vendors, setting up shop under the Bridge’s Overpass, in Chinatown

Manhattan Bridge, opened December 1909, was the last of the three suspension bridges built across the East River. Since 1982, it has undergone a Reconstruction Program at a cost of $834 million to rehabilitate its roadways, subway tracks, walkways, bikeways; replace its 628 bridge suspenders; and restore its Arch and Colonnade. The project is scheduled for completion in 2013.

Construction

Barricades left over from New Year’s Eve

Views of the East River draw the eye across the water and over to the adjacent bridges. Ongoing construction means the rules for the walk- and bike-ways have been relaxed (they ate usually separate). Surprisingly, bikers and walkers are very respectful of one another.

Next time you’re in New York, take a stroll across Manhattan Bridge to Brooklyn, or vice versa. You won’t be disappointed.

Yesterday I set out to see the graffiti wall on Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Located on the corner of East Houston Street and Bowery, it displays work by well-known street artists. I’d been so captivated by the recent work from afar that I had to see it up close.

The Wall Mural, from across the street

Owned by Tony Goldman, real estate investor, the Houston/Bowery Mural Wall has commissioned public art works for a number of years. Artwork after artwork has been displayed here; it’s a living creative kaleidoscope. In November 2010, Kenny Scharf spray-painted a colourful cartoonish work, which was covered up in June 2011 by a large black-and-white photo print by French artist, J.R. Four months later, that photo was pasted over by this current work by artist collective Faile. It is the graffiti wall’s seventh project.

Colour against a wintry streetscape

Looking at it closely, what I assumed to be poster was actually a collage made of torn graphics. I stood there for a while, seeing all kinds of pops. The longer I stared, the more I saw.

Up Close

Faile is made up of two artists, Patrick McNeil and Patrick Mullen, who have been collaborating on works since 1998.

The New York artist collaboration Faile… takes inspiration from the detritus of city walls. The decay of advertising and flyposting provides a platform to present their own take on the world of found imagery. These recognisable pop culture images are visible in their large-scale canvas works, representing a rich collage of the urban experience. In the spirit of collage, they’ve diversified into other areas including sculpture and bookmaking yet their work remains heavily indebted to printmaking and stencilling traditions.

Their first projects on the street had the title A Life, of which their name Faile was an anagram. The name was also an acknowledgement of the inevitable process of deterioration that an artwork suffered when exposed to the elements. (Tate Modern UK)

<Faile was invited to collaborate with five other artists in the Tate Modern’s first commissioned use of its river-facing façade. This helped legitimize the value of street art. (2008)>

Pop Art

For the Houston/Bowery mural, Faile used graphics from their old and new works. Part of the mashup: silkscreens, vintage Sci-Fi graphics, logos (including Lufthansa’s), Japanese hieroglyphs, and other iconography.

Combining old silkscreens…

… with Sci-Fi…

…with Japanese hieroglyphs…

…branding…

…and iconography.

The collage started as a concept on paper. From there, large-scale pieces were printed, hand painted, and then torn at Faile’s studio. With the help of a boom lift , individual parts were pasted to replace J.R.’s work. Gaps were filled in with paint to create a polished piece.

The finished work

The artwork was created in October 2011, but some parts have already been defaced.

Wear/Tear

Is this necessary?

Displayed within the collage is the text, “With Love and Kisses, Nothing Lasts Forever,” perhaps in response to those who have been known to ruin works with tags within days of it being pasted. This work will inevitably be replaced with work by the next hot street artist. For now, I hope the show stopper stays put.

Nothing Lasts Forever….!

NB: Faile place works up regularly in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. A couple of recent works are on display on Wyeth Street: 1. “I used to be worth something.”

on Wyeth Street in Williamsburg, Brooklyn

2. A 16-foot-high industrial doorway is decorated in stenciled grocery posters. The duo collaborated with another street artist, Bäst, on the collection of works below.